Showing posts with label autobiography. Show all posts
Showing posts with label autobiography. Show all posts

Wednesday, November 22, 2023

Short Takes: Kageki Shojo!! 8, Citrus+ 5, and My Pancreas Broke but my Life got Better


Citrus Plus Vol. 5 Kageki Shojo!! Vol. 8 My Pancreas Broke But My Life Got Better

Citrus + (plus) Volume 5
    Yuzu runs into her old middle school friends. She's with Mei and doesn't properly introduce them. Yuzu is torn about how to tell them while fearing they might leave her. Like the rest of the Citrus + series, this volume is definitely lighter as well as a bit more realistic than the original series. If you've been liking this sequel series, this is a total normal volume in that series.

Kageki Shojo!! Vol. 8
    The fall-out of Sarasa missing her first performance due to her sick grandfather. The students also move into their second year. Narata also begins some self-discovery about what her path in the theater might look like. A good overall volume.

My Pancreas Broke but my Life Got Better
    The next volume in the ongoing autobiography manga series by Nagata Kabi. This is the series that started with My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness. My feelings about this volume are similar to my feelings on the last couple, good points, good honesty, uniquely rough art, but also feeling a bit redundant without the heavy hit of that original volume. Tough to know if the original book was alter in the series if it too would feel less, as if it simply hit harder as the first and being so shockingly different. However, as the later volumes have focused more on Nagata's health, alcoholism, and some of her mental health, it doesn't feel as taboo as the first volume's subject matter. Additionally, I really wish she'd go deeper into her relationship with her mother, that looms over everything. Worth a read, but certainly don't expect the intensity of the very first book.

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Friday, March 17, 2023

The Girl that Can't Get a Girlfriend (Manga Review)

Two women on the front cover, one drawn in precise manga style the other in a more cartoony way. The precisely drawn one is putting her hand up to say "no" to the other who is presenting her with a heart shaped flower
    "The Girl that Can't Get a Girlfriend" by Mieri Hiranishi is an auto-biographical LGBTQ manga. In keeping with my general philosophy towards auto-biographical works, I will not be commenting on the story or characters themselves because those are real people and real events, so it's not for me to dissect them. Also, out of respect for the author, this is their work and their life, and they should be proud to have it out there for the world to see. That's a very brave thing.
    All that being said, I wanted to love "The Girl that Can't Get a Girlfriend" but I didn't. It was okay, just okay. I think it suffers in comparison to some extraordinary works, particularly "My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness" which is extraordinary on so many levels, that most things will pale in comparison. But I also think about graphic novels like "Fun Home" or "It's Lonely at the Centre of the Earth" or even "Hyperbole and a Half" and unfortunately "The Girl..." just doesn't compete.